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I don’t usually blog about the weird little things I do on my free time. Surprisingly enough, I’m actually really big into interior design. It was one of my career choices had I thought I’d be able to actually have a job, and not have to move to a big city. So yeah…I’m constantly in a battle to make my living spaces look like I specifically chose each item to go with each other item, when I’ve actually just acquired them all randomly. My pet project is my bedroom. I have a bedset that is a baroque design, similar to my pink heading above, in black, white, hot pink, and light blue-green. It was my inspiration, but I’ve only gotten it after I moved out into the dorms, which just happened to have a blue and green theme. Unfortunately, I just can’t get rid of all my mismatched things and buy all new things. I have to make due…so I decided to make this box much more awesome than it was when I bought it.

Not very exciting, right? But those were my dorm colors. I actually have another box (I haven’t finished it yet), which is blue, with a green lid.

First, I needed something to cover it with. I could paint it…but I’m not that talented with flat surfaces. I could probably also cover it with fabric, but at the risk of it feeling crunchy, or not turning out well, I opted out of that one. I ended up finding scrapbook paper, and let me tell you the options are endless! I chose to use a baroque pattern for the actual box, and a solid for the lid. I chose a black and white baroque with a hot pink lid for one box, and a pink and black baroque with a black lid for the other. Here is the one Ihaven’t finished:

The pink ones for the lid were smaller, but if you can find a big sheet in the color you need, it might be big enough to only use 1 sheet. None of my pieces were actually big enough to cover the whole box in one piece, so I had to get a little creative. I cut the smaller pieces lengthwise into 4 equal pieces, and used them to cover the sides of the lid; this gave me enough room to fold the paper about a half inch over the top, and underneath the lid for full coverage on all 4 sides of the lid. I hot glued them into place (I’m sure you could use other methods of gluing, but this actually worked like a charm and didn’t leave me with any bubbles or wrinkling).

For the actual box, I used 3 sheets of 12×12 scrapbook paper. First, I folded 1 sheet in half. Then, I cut about 2-3 inches off what is now width. This should make it the width of the box (you might need to adjust more or less). Now, cut the paper on the fold, and you have the pieces to cover each end of the box. Again, fold it over on the top of the box and the bottom, similarly to the lid (see note below). Hot glue into place.

Finally, I used the last 2 sheets of 12×12 to cover the rest of the box. I cut about 1 inch from each piece to make it the same length as the box. I wrapped one over the top lip of the box and glued into place, then brought it all the way under the box and glued it there as well. I repeated on the other side. You will have several seams, but nothing thats terribly noticeable or unattractive.

The one caveat I have about this project is how to deal with the presence of the label holder like I have on my boxes. They are photo/video catalog boxes, and so I had to cut a hole in the paper on one end of the box. I did thisbefore I glued it down, and it seemed to work well enough (not perfect, but okay for my purposes). I’m sure you could cut it after gluing, but it might pose a problem of anchoring that part of the paper to the box. If you don’t need the label holder, you can also just cover it and forget about it. I thought about doing this, but I chose to keep the holder because I liked how it looked. You can use scraps that you’ve cut off to cut a piece of paper to slip inside, so its the same color as the rest of the box.

Ta-da! My newly redecorated, revamped storage box (these are the other colors). You can see that its not perfect, but I was also winging it. It goes great with my bedroom and makes a great accent piece. Sorry for not doing a better tutorial – check out my sewing blogs for a better read; this was an afterthought of the project or I could’ve given step-by-step pictures along with my instructions. Know that you can always change things for what you need, and don’t be afraid to experiment!

I have this conversation often enough. It originally started way back when I was probably a sophomore or junior in high school, in which me and a very close friend were discussing the topic. Yesterday, I brought it up to my coworkers during what we have aptly dubbed the “pants party” (when we change out of our scrubs into normal clothes after work).

I happened to be folding laundry while sitting on the toilet (the locker room is our bathroom and laundry room also), and the subject of pooping got brought up (apparently there are different ways to sit on the toilet and poop, too). That ultimately led to our discussion about wiping (not just limited to pooping, especially for the ladies). We decided that there were a few main stances. There is the lean to the side, the lean forward/squat, and then the stand up, with degrees of difference in each. We all kind of thought that wiping standing up was really weird, and inefficient. I happen to be a lean to the side type of person.

How do you wipe? Do you think it depends on if you are man or a woman?

Euthanasia of animals in controversial, even among those who love animals more than anything else. The reason it gets done is because there aren’t enough homes for all of the lovely animals in this world, and because urban environments allow populations of animals to grow past carrying capacity, which causes suffering of the animals.

There was once a man, Jack Kevorkian, who believed that human euthanasia could be useful. He wasn’t alone, and he never will be alone in that belief. The problem with human euthanasia is the need for a system to designate what would be within the law, and what would not. The circumstances under which human euthanasia would be acceptable could range from requests by terminally ill patients looking to end their own suffering, to requests by depressed patients who would otherwise lead a normal life. Beyond that, human euthanasia could be applied to those not contributing to society, or cause us to make judgment calls about the quality of life for extremely mentally or physically disabled people. We also have a tendency to be more attached to humans than we do animals, and the grieving process takes longer, so the lives of those who know the person in question would also need to be taken into account.

Keep in mind, we already use euthanasia to end the lives of prisoners.

It could very well have the same implications that animal euthanasia does. It could decrease the amount that humans have overpopulated the world, which would help to decrease suffering not only in underdeveloped countries, but even our own back yards. The sick would no longer have to suffer, and those who wanted to end their pain, would have the option.

What do you think about human euthanasia? Do you think that terminally ill patients who may be suffering should have the right to choose their own fate? What kind of regulations would you propose if it was legal? Do you think capital punishment should be outlawed?

There have been very few occasions in my life in which, if I have nothing better to do, that I will stop having a conversation with someone, especially if that conversation is online. I’ve had many a conversation with people who choose to be inappropriately forward, or whatever it may be. At worst, I humor these people, and find what they have to say funny (I don’t get offended easily). At best, I actually enjoy the conversation.

Recently, I was telling a friend about a chat I was having (online) with a person who is generally very forward, and what I would consider…inappropriate. The chat itself wasn’t inappropriate, but my friend prompted me to stop chatting with this person. I thought that was strange, especially considering I will chat with really anyone. I’ve actually been called someones “hero” for my replies (yes, I’m that awesome at comebacks).

When do things become too inappropriate or people become to forward for you? At what point do you become offended? Do you just stop talking to people when they become crude, or do you humor them?

Random person (female): I saw that blog you posted about me! I’m so offended!

Me: What blog?

Random person: The blog where you said this and this and this.

Me: That wasn’t about you; I haven’t written a blog about you.

Random person: Just tell me to my face! I can’t believe you wrote that about me!

Me: I was unaware you had a penis. I explicitly said he.

Random person: Well, I’m sure that was so I wouldn’t think it was about me. You didn’t think I would find out? I’m not THAT stupid!

Me: Well, obviously you are, because it wasn’t about you. But if you wanna think that, go right on ahead! Maybe you should suck that dick of yours while you’re at it.

This is a completely fictional conversation. Random person (female) is not an alias for anyone I know now, have known in the past, or will know if the future. Me is also nonexistent. Unless of course you remember having this conversation with Me, or find that your name is in fact “Random person (female)”. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.

I just got back from the grocery store, and I’m sure the cashier thought I was completely off my rocker. Why? Well, because I refused a bag. My purchase consisted of a box of dishwasher detergent, 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese, a box of crackers, a bag of shredded cheese, a bottle of pasta sauce, a can of soup, a bottle of soda, shampoo, and conditioner. I also had my wallet, phone, and keys, because I didn’t have pockets/purse. So yes, she thought I was crazy.

But if there is any chance that I can carry my items in my arms, I’m going to do it. I hate using plastic. And paper just kills trees (do they even have paper bags any more?). And I usually forget my other, reusable bags. So I opt for inconveniencing myself and carrying them all by hand.

Numbers vary, but one report shows that people in California average about 550 plastic bags per person, per year. If I used that many, and I lived for 60 more years, that would be about 33,000 bags. So, I’ve stopped using them (I’ll be honest, I use them occasionally when I’m having a crappy day, but my bag use is very low). I don’t know if its true or not, but they say recycling the plastic from a bag is more expensive than making a new bag (if you know otherwise, please share!). They might have those plastic bag recycling bins at places like Walmart, but it would be easier for everyone to just eliminate! It may also take hundreds of years for our plastic bags to decompose.

What I want to know is why they don’t start producing plastic bags from corn, like they do with the cups and straws and my university.

What kind of bag do you use when you go shopping? How do you feel about plastic, and plastic users? What nifty “plastics” made from things like corn or potatoes have you come across?